CarPlay widgets not showing? Every fix, in order

CarPlay widgets are set up on your phone and shown in the car, so when something goes wrong it is not obvious which side to look at. The fixes below go from most to least common. Most people are done after the first three.

If you have not added a widget yet, start with the step-by-step CarPlay widget guide.

1. Your iPhone is on an older iOS

Symptom: there is no Widgets row anywhere in CarPlay settings.

CarPlay’s widget screen arrived with iOS 26. On earlier versions, the car’s settings page only has the app layout, and no app can put a widget on CarPlay. Check Settings → General → About, and update from Software Update if you are below iOS 26.

2. Show Widgets is switched off

Symptom: you added widgets, but the car never shows a widget screen.

Widgets have their own on/off switch, per car. Go to Settings → General → CarPlay → your car → Widgets and turn on Show Widgets. Your list of widgets can be full while the switch is off, and CarPlay will show nothing.

3. You are looking on the wrong page

Symptom: the switch is on, but you only see app icons.

The widget screen is CarPlay’s leftmost page, before your first page of apps. Swipe through the pages on the car display until you reach the very first one.

4. The design change was not saved

Symptom: you picked a new design, but the car still shows the old one.

In CarPlay settings, a widget’s options open in a sheet — ⓘ next to the widget, then Design. iOS only saves what you choose there when you close the sheet with ✕ at the top right. Swiping it down or tapping back discards the change. Open it again, choose, and close with ✕.

5. The app is missing from the gallery

Symptom: you search the widget gallery for an app and it is not there.

Only apps that offer a CarPlay widget appear, and an app’s widgets register with iOS after it has been opened. Update the app from the App Store, open it once on your iPhone, then go back to Add Widget. GirlyMaps offers its widget for CarPlay, the Home Screen and StandBy.

6. Your car is not in the list

Symptom: Settings → General → CarPlay is empty, or your car is missing.

iOS lists cars your iPhone has connected to. Connect once — with a cable, or by pairing for wireless CarPlay — and the car appears with its own settings, including Widgets.

7. The widget looks blank or loses its colours

Symptom: the widget appears, but as a sticker on black, or with missing pieces.

CarPlay (like StandBy) can remove the background a widget normally sits on. Apps have to draw their own background for that case. In GirlyMaps, update to the latest version: the widget draws its design underneath itself on CarPlay, so it keeps its colours and pattern.

8. Still nothing? Reconnect

Disconnect CarPlay, wait a few seconds and connect again. If your car supports it, also try the other connection type — cable instead of wireless, or the reverse. Restarting your iPhone clears whatever is left.